More Heavy Rains, Strong Winds In VA Forecast, Followed By Snow Next Week

VIRGINIA — The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for Friday night in Virginia, from Arlington south to Fredericksburg and west to the Blue Ridge.

After Friday night's heavy rains, the next weather system could bring snow to Northern Virginia. The air will be cold enough for snow, but forecasters still aren't sure how much precipitation will arrive at the end of the long Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.

For Friday, the heaviest rain will be coming between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m. Forecasters strongly recommend against any travel late Friday night to avoid coming across flooded roadways.

Most of the rain will soak the region within a three- to six-hour period Friday evening. Localized heavy rain and grounds saturated from previous rain could flood streams, creeks and low-lying and urban areas, forecasters say.

"Rainfall will probably total 0.5 to 1 inch, although locally higher amounts are possible," The Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang reported Friday. "That’s quite a bit less than the 2 to 3 inches that fell in most spots Tuesday."

Wind gusts will accompany the rain in parts of the region, so downed trees and power lines will also be a major concern.

The potential for stronger gusts up to 50 mph has prompted the NWS to issue a wind advisory for counties in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula of Virginia from 7 p.m. on Friday to 4 a.m. on Saturday.

For Saturday, the NWS has issued a separate wind advisory for all of Northern Virginia. From 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, westerly winds of 20 to 30 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph, are expected in Northern Virginia and D.C.

"Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects," the NWS said. "Tree limbs could be blown down, and a few power outages may result."

After a dry weekend, forecasters are watching out for a possible storm with snow to develop Monday night and into Tuesday. At this time, there is no agreement among the forecast models about snowfall amounts.

Some models show no snow at all Monday night and Tuesday, while others suggest at 2 to 5 inches of snow in parts of Northern Virginia, NBC4 forecasters reported.

“The uncertainty about the storm track leads to lots of possible scenarios. They range from misses to our south and east giving us little or no snow, to a track just off the coast leading to solid all snow, to inland tracks that would give us a mix-to-rain scenario,” said Wes Junker, the Capital Weather Gang’s winter weather expert. “Right now, the first two scenarios seem the most likely.”

Here is a look at the forecast for Virginia through the weekend into early next week from the National Weather Service:

Friday: A chance of rain after 4 p.m. Increasing clouds, with a high near 52. Light east wind becoming southeast 11 to 16 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.

Friday night: Rain and thunderstorms before 1 a.m., then rain likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., then a chance of rain after 4 a.m. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Low around 44. Breezy, with a southeast wind 16 to 23 mph becoming southwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 39 mph.

Saturday: A chance of rain before 7 a.m. Sunny, with a high near 49. Breezy, with a west wind 18 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 47 mph.

Saturday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 32. Southwest wind 11 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 42. Breezy, with a southwest wind 13 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph.

Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 23.

Monday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 34.

Monday night: A chance of snow after 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27.

Tuesday: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 33.

Tuesday night: A chance of snow before 1 a.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 15.